Complaints about brand new tower

Living in a tower that is regarded as an architectural beauty and an embodiment of modern urban living, Brittany Li said she did not feel the high-end living vibe.

Ms Li and her boyfriend Alex Yang moved to a new high-rise residential building, Eq. Tower, on A’Beckett St last December.

Developed by ICD Property and Chinese developer Sino-Ocean Land, designed by Elenberg Fraser and built by Multiplex, the 65-storey Eq. Tower has recently been named one of Australia’s best Residential High Rise Developments at the Asia Pacific Property Awards.

Ms Li said with the $445-per-week rent for the one-bedroom apartment she expected state-of-the-art facilities.

But soon after moving in, she said water from air-conditioning started leaking from her bedroom ceiling.

Ms Li said she contacted Eq. Tower’s building manager, who told her to contact her real estate agent to resolve the issue because it was not within his reach.

She said they waited for a month before the agent notified the landlord to get the ceiling repaired after Christmas, during when she and Mr Yang had to stay elsewhere.

Eq. Tower accommodates 633 apartments and more than 1000 residents when it’s fully occupied, but it only has four lifts.

The average waiting time for a lift was between five and 10 minutes, and sometimes it could be as long as 20 minutes, Ms Li said.

Ms Li said on a few occasions when the lifts were being repaired or booked, she had to climb the stairs to the 32-floor apartment.

She said the facility and living conditions at Eq. Tower did not align with its “high-end living” reputation.

“We are paying such expensive rent for the apartment. There are entertainment and fitness facilities within the building but it’s the basic facilities that are inadequate,” she said.

“I don’t think Eq. Tower is suitable for living long-term because the facilities make it very inconvenient to live in.”

“We upgraded the lift system from the minimum requirement by utilising a destination control system which considers desired destination floors and the number of waiting passengers to significantly improve efficiency and convenience,” he said.

Mc McKinnon also said he understood the water leak at Ms Li’s apartment had been fixed within days and said defects were not uncommon in newly constructed buildings notwithstanding the builder’s best effort to prevent these from occurring.